Carl Meredith Allen
Merchant mariner who claimed to witness the Philadelphia Experiment.
Carl Meredith Allen was an American merchant mariner who claimed to have witnessed the Philadelphia Experiment, a purported U.S. Navy invisibility test in 1943. His accounts, later widely regarded as a hoax, became the foundation for numerous books, documentaries, and films. Allen alternately confessed to fabricating the story and recanted those confessions over the years.
Quick Facts
- Born
- May 31, 1925
- Birthplace
- Springdale, Pennsylvania, U.S.
- Died
- 5 March 1994
- Place of death
- Greeley, Colorado, U.S.
- Occupation
- Merchant mariner
- Other names
- Carlos Miguel Allende
- Carlos Miguel Christofero Allende
- Karl Merditt Allenstein
Facts from the source article.
Biography
Carl Meredith Allen, the eldest of five children, was born on May 31, 1925, in Springdale, Pennsylvania. His family considered him exceptionally bright, noting his "fantastic mind," but he drifted between jobs and never stayed with one for long. A sibling described him as a "master leg-puller" who enjoyed pranks and did everything possible to avoid school and work. After joining the U.S. Marine Corps in 1942, he was discharged within a year. He then signed on with the United States Merchant Marine, serving first on one vessel and later on more than two dozen others until leaving in 1952. Years afterward, Allen claimed that in 1943 he had observed a Navy invisibility experiment at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, met Albert Einstein there, and received several weeks of physics instruction from him. Over his life, he adopted numerous aliases, including Carlos Miguel Allende, Señor Professor, Colonel Carlos Miguel Christofero Allende, and Dr. Karl Merditt Allenstein. He lived in Colorado and Mexico before settling in Greeley, Colorado, where he died on March 5, 1994.
Connection to the Philadelphia Experiment
In late 1955, an anonymous package arrived at the U.S. Office of Naval Research containing a copy of Morris K. Jessup's book The Case for the UFO: Unidentified Flying Objects filled with handwritten notes in three shades of blue ink, appearing to detail a debate among three individuals. The notes discussed flying saucer propulsion, alien races, and concern that Jessup was too close to discovering their technology. When Jessup was shown the annotated book a year later, he recognized the handwriting from letters he had received from Carl Allen, who sometimes signed as "Carlos Miguel Allende". In those letters, Allen alleged a science experiment based on unpublished Albert Einstein theories, conducted at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in October 1943. Allen claimed to have witnessed it while serving aboard the . He said a destroyer escort was rendered invisible, teleported to Norfolk, Virginia, for several minutes, then reappeared in Philadelphia, and that the crew suffered mental illness, intangibility, and being "frozen" in place. When Jessup asked for corroboration, Allen said his memory needed recovery and referred to a seemingly non-existent Philadelphia newspaper article. Twelve years later, Allen stated he authored all the annotations to frighten Jessup. The Varo Manufacturing Corporation produced mimeographed copies of the book with Allen's annotations and letters, first a dozen then 127 copies, known as the "Varo edition". This became central to many Philadelphia Experiment books, documentaries, and movies. Writers and researchers who later sought information from Allen found his responses elusive or could not locate him.
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